名人励志英语演讲 第100期:当梦想来临时抓住它(1)

 　　Class of 2009! I don't think I hurt you. First I'd like you to get up, wave and cheer your supportive family and friends! I'm sure you can find them out there. Show your love!

　　09级的同学们，我不认为我想要伤害你们。首先我希望大家都站起来，向支持你们的亲朋好友挥手致意！我相信你们都能在人群中找到他们，把你们的爱表达出来吧！

　　It is a great honor for me to be here today.

　　今天我很荣幸来到这里。

　　Now wait a second. I know: that's such a cliche¹. You're thinking: every graduation speaker here said that--It's a great honor, in my case, it really is so deeply true--being here is more special and more personal for me than most of you know. I'd like to tell you why.

　　请等一下。我知道，刚才那句陈词滥调。你们可能在想：每位毕业典礼的演讲人都会说——很荣幸，但就我而言，的确字真意深——因为我来到这里，要比你们所知的大多数人都更为特别和亲切。我想告诉大家这其中的缘由。

　　A long time ago, in the cold September of 1962, there was a Steven's co-op at this very university. That co-op had a kitchen with a ceiling that had been cleaned by student volunteers probably every decade or so. Picture a college girl named Gloria, climbing up high on a ladder, struggling to clean that filthy² ceiling. Standing³ on the floor, a young boarder named Carl was admiring the view. And that's how they met. They are my parents, so I suppose you could say I'm a direct result of that kitchen chemistry experiment, right here at Michigan. My Mom is here with us today, and we should probably go find the spot and put a plague up on the ceiling that wrote:"Thanks Mom and Dad!"

　　很久以前，1962年寒冷的9月，这座校园有一家史蒂文消费合作社。该合作社有一间厨房，那里的天花板由学生志愿者打扫，大概每十来年才一次吧。想象一下，画面上有位名叫格洛里亚的女大学生，爬上了高高的梯子，努力地打扫那脏兮兮的天花板。一位名叫卡尔的寄宿生站在地上，对此情景钦佩不已。这就是他俩的初次邂逅。他俩就是我的父母亲。所以我想你们会说，我就是这里，密歇根大学那个“厨房化学实验”的直接成果。我的母亲今天和我们在一起，或许我们应该去找到他们相遇的地方，并且在天花板上镶嵌一块铭牌，上刻“感谢爸爸、妈妈！”

　　重点讲解：

　　1. It is +形容词 + for sb to do sth.

　　句型，对某人来说做某事怎么样

　　文中用的是It is a great honor for sb. to do sth. 即做某事对某人来说很荣幸；

　　eg. It is a great honor to receive that prize.

　　能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

　　eg. It is a honor for me to receive the letter of your company.

　　收到贵公司的来信,让我倍感荣幸。

　　2. in one's case

　　对某人来说；

　　eg. In his case a simple surgical⁴ operation is indicated.

　　他的病情表明需要做一次简单的外科手术。

　　eg. They sang without instrumental accompaniment--or, more accurately⁵ in their case, without any interference.

　　他们唱歌没有乐器伴奏--在他们这种情况下，更正确地说，是没有干扰。

　　3. co-op

　　n. 合作社，合作商店

　　eg. He does all his shopping at the co-op.

　　他无论什么东西都在消费合作社购买。

　　eg. The co-op sells the art work at exhibitions.

　　合作社在展览会上出售艺术品。

　　背景资料：

　　如果看过谷歌的介绍，可能你会不由自主地想到一个词——神话。这里说的不光是拉里·佩奇和谢尔盖·布林两个没读完博士的辍学学生在硅谷的车库里创业，最后建成了市值超过1千亿美元（甚至有人预测五年后会超越微软）的IT巨擎的传奇故事，这里说的还是谷歌里面那令无数打工族垂涎的企业文化：牛仔裤、T恤衫的随意穿着，美餐、中餐、印度餐等一应俱全的大食堂，免费就医、洗衣、洗车的服务，甚至可以带上狗狗和滑板车一起上班……谷歌创始人之一拉里·佩奇2009年在密歇根大学毕业典礼上做了演讲，虽然已是成功典范，但拉里并没有夸夸其谈，他用诚挚的语言讲述了自己的家庭背景和人生经历，告诉大家人生中最宝贵的两样东西……梦想和亲友，以此勉励即将毕业的学生。

　　名人名言：

　　Overall, I know it seems like the world is crumbling⁶ out there, but it is actually a great time in your life to get a little crazy, follow your curiosity, and be ambitious about it. Don't give up on your dreams. The world needs you all!

　　总而言之，我知道这个世界看起来已支离破碎，但这确实是你们人生中一个伟大的时代，你们可以疯狂一点，追随你们的好奇心，积极进取。不要放弃梦想。世界需要你们。

1 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。

2 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

5 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

6 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。